Bless Billy’s Heart

Billy Graham gave evangelism a good name. He had wisdom to know that new believers need to be connected to some congregation quickly at the level of being a family member if they were going to continue to be related to the church.

Still,  only 4 – 5% of his converts lasted more than 4 years in a congregation without separating from the church. Most congregations don’t value new, messy believers, so they don’t hold on to them and grow them up.

Billy taught in his sermons that Jesus said, “Ye must be born again!”

What Billy interpreted that to mean was, “If you want to go to heaven when you die, you have to be born again.” That’s not what Jesus said to Nicodemus, though.

He told him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (CJB John 3:3)

If you have not been born of God, you cannot SEE the Kingdom. It is all around you, but you have to be born from above or you can’t discern its presence and involvement and accomplishments.

Paul wrote to the congregations at Corinth, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  (NKJV 1 Cor 2:14-15)